Ford Focus RS: PH Fleet

Winter roads are here; is the Focus RS in its element in the elements though?

Luck would have it I pulled rank and bagged the Focus just as the weather took a turn for the seasonal. A perfect opportunity for the Focus to show going all-wheel drive is about more than just drifting.

Before I get to that though, some quick practical observations. I know it's actually against the rules to write about this car and not slag the seats off for being mounted too high but I've not found myself as irritated by it as some. Which is odd because my reflex action when getting in any car is to try and slam the seat down to the floor.

Yes, that is real snow!

Bigger practical problems as I see it are the pitiful luggage space from the raised boot floor and the appalling visibility. I guess the latter will be true of any current Focus; the latter probably won't be but for those with family clutter to shift around the RS is severely limited. Another vote for the Civic if these things matter to you!

Anyway, there are more interesting things to talk about! With long-suffering snapper Sim shivering behind his Nikon I was keen to see how the Focus dealt with the kind of roads that it should, by rights, devour. The kind of roads the Subarus and Evos of a few years back would have ruled supreme; the ones with odd cambers, evil bumps, mixed surfaces and - at this time of year - not a whole lot of grip.

I have to say, I wasn't quite as relaxed in the Focus as I expected. Even with the dampers decoupled into the softer setting the chassis is pretty aggressive, the body control excellent and damping very good but the general set-up perhaps a little too sharp on properly bumpy roads. Combine that with really fast, pointy steering and I was surprised how nervy I felt.

Mostly at home here; not perfect though

I think the weight has a lot to do with it too. To keep that mass in check the spring and damper rates have to be pretty fierce and generally do a good job. But over rapid fire bumps or on roads with unhelpful cambers you feel the inertia through quick direction changes and it just doesn't flow in the way a lighter car like a Megane or Civic manages. Generally it's good at hammering the road into submission but if the surface fights back the Focus suddenly feels a little on tip toes. I know I'm a bit of a Subaru fanboy but on the same roads and in similar conditions my (supposedly outdated) WRX STI long termer felt a lot more confidence inspiring, and that wasn't exactly a cushy car in terms of spring and damper set-up or significantly lighter overall. That lack of visibility and the top-heavy feeling from the seating position (there, I said it...) are, I suspect, factors in why the Focus has you backing out of it where in a rally rep you'd be getting on it.

Old dogs can still teach RS new tricks

It's much better on smoother, wider roads. And massively entertaining on the slithery roundabouts that punctuate the mid-section of my drive down from the north. I love the way the front end is so pointy and that adding more throttle simply encourages the rotation into the corner before tracing a diagonal line out of it. We're used to hot hatches that can be adjusted by coming off the throttle. But the Focus responds to more positive applications, the more so at this time of year. You can see it in the pictures Sim shot from up on the moors; it's not going massively sideways or likely to inspire further outbursts from our sweary Australian friend. Just very obviously not understeering, in keeping with the promise made by development boss Tyrone Johnson.

I learned more on how it does this from a chat with a nice chap from GKN Driveline, which supplies and helped develop the Twinster all-wheel drive system for the Focus RS. If you're into your geekery and want to know more about how it works differently from the Haldex-based systems used by most rivals it's a really interesting chat (well, I thought so). I'll be posting the GoPro'd conversation in its entirety soon.

FACT SHEET
Car: 2016 Ford Focus RS
Run by: It's basically the PH office bike...
On fleet since: September 2016
Mileage: 16,855 (delivered on 10,919)
List price new: £35,315 (Basic list of £31,000 plus £745 for Nitrous Blue paint, £1,000 for Luxury Pack, £595 for forged alloy wheels, £1,145 for Recaro shell seats, £465 for SYNC2, £85 for door edge protector and £100 for colour coded brake calipers
Last month at a glance: Can the Focus brighten up the winter gloom?

Previous reports:
Three months with a Focus RS then; best make them count!
First service and a meeting with the ancestors